Mark Ramprakash 100 hundreds

[SJS]

With the way that cricket is going these days though, surely that's the only way you'll be able to notch up 100 centuries. Not be good enough to consistently play for your country, and play lots of County cricket in the meantime.

Point

And not be aggressive enough to be ensnared by Mr Lalit Modi and his filmy mob

 

[Richard]

At 27.3, Ram Prakash has by far the worst Test batting average of those in this exclusive club.

At just 2 hundreds in 52 Tests, he is the worst in this regard too - by a massive distance from anyone else.

The next at the bottom of that list in these Test related performances is the last gentleman to join the club. Graeme Hick - a Test average of 31.3 in 65 Tests .

Reflects on the declining standards of county cricket where these gentlemen achieved all their 'greatness'. ?

I'm not entirely sure it does TBH - not in Ramprakash's case and maybe not in Hick's either.

There have always been batsmen who can dominate at the domestic level but fail to make the step up. Look accross to Australia and find two players of the same generation in Greg Blewett and Michael Bevan. For a long time there was Darren Lehmann too, though that would more accurately said to be a matter of pure chance.

Sometimes the domestic game doesn't show-up technical flaws, but when it is a case of a player not having the temperament, the best possible domestic cricket is never going to help him overcome this.

Domestic and international cricket is so different in terms of atmosphere, not just on the field but immediately you come off it too. And regardless of the quality, the spotlight is massively lesser at the domestic level, anywhere in The World.

The irony is that English domestic cricket is the least unwatched of all domestic levels. Crowds are tiny, but there's always still a few, which is more than can be said of domestic cricket pretty much anywhere else. In recent years attendances at domestic games in New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka have been reported as zero (and it was said that someone was surprised to hear they got that many), while in Australia and India it's often said there is no interest whatsoever. Many more people, in all countries, follow domestic cricket than attend, but so long as there are few eyeballs the temperamentally hard-up will never have these flaws exposed and potentially cured.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

I go to domestic games whenever I can (usually one or two a season) but it's pretty hard to get to a shield game when they're on during the week.

 

[-ShakeyBlakey-]

I was watching the Surrey v. Essex on 11th May this year, when Ramps scored 98. THE PAIN!! Needless to say, I didn't go home happy! I did really

 

[GIMH]

I go to domestic games whenever I can (usually one or two a season) but it's pretty hard to get to a shield game when they're on during the week.

Championship has the same problem most of the time. Should start them on a Friday IMO.

 

[honestbharani]

Only the 25th man to achieve this feat.

Fantastic achievement. Kudos to the man.. Wish England gave him few more chances, at least in the last year or so.... Was a very pleasing batsman to watch in full flow. Congratulations to him and wish him the best for the future too..

 

[Dissector]

I belong to the camp which doesn't think much of this achievement particularly from a player who flopped on the test stage. Still it takes a certain amount of character to continue plugging away in country cricket after the main prize has eluded you so congratulations, Mark Ramprakash.

 

[SJS]

Fantastic achievement. Kudos to the man.. Wish England gave him few more chances, at least in the last year or so.... Was a very pleasing batsman to watch in full flow. Congratulations to him and wish him the best for the future too..

Hb, you really think 52 matches is not enough for some one who averages a miserable 27.33 when playing as a pure batsman.

There isn't a single batsman in the entire history of the game who has played so much for so little by way of payback.

His poverty of runs will always keep him in the 'limelight'. I cant imagine another player reaching such depths after so much faith has been bestowed on them.

 

[Burgey]

I don't think Ponting has enough left in the tank to do it. I wouldn't rule him out just yet though, because he does go on crazy hot streaks. And more immediately he does seem to love South Africa.

Ponting seems likely to be eventually curtailed by that back injury of his which seems to flair up every now and again. Apparently it's degenerative, so it's not like he can rest for 6 months and have it get better.
Also, I don't know if the 100 ton thing means as much to guys who haven't played a lot of county cricket. I'm not being disrespectful in saying that, and I also wonder how many of those tons Ramps would swap for the chance at another test cap?

By saying the milestone may not mean as much, what I mean is, if you're someone like Ponting who's been on the road year in and year out for about a dozen years or more, are you likely to go and play county cricket post-tests for long enough to get to what's still a pretty significant mark?

 

[Richard]

Hb, you really think 52 matches is not enough for some one who averages a miserable 27.33 when playing as a pure batsman.

There isn't a single batsman in the entire history of the game who has played so much for so little by way of payback.

His poverty of runs will always keep him in the 'limelight'. I cant imagine another player reaching such depths after so much faith has been bestowed on them.

I also wish he'd been given a few more chances TBH. I'd not be feeling confident he'd have taken them, but nor would I have felt certain he'd fail.

Ramprakash's average, like most, is not one thing. In the first part of his career, 1991-1995/96, he averaged 16. Here he well-and-truly fitted your description: "played so much for so little by way of payback".

However, after his recall in 1997 for the final Test of the Ashes Series, he achieved rather more. When not opening the batting, he averaged 37, and had out-and-out poor series just twice, both against New Zealand, and both of which resulted in his axing (the first most harshly so).

I wish he had been retained on both occasions, especially the former. I do not wish to suggest he'd have roared to success had he done so, but I also feel more confident I think than most would have done.

However, I was not enormously in favour of any recall in the last season or two, unlike not a few. I felt his time had passed in 2006/07 and 2007/08.

 

[Top_Cat]

Also, I don't know if the 100 ton thing means as much to guys who haven't played a lot of county cricket. I'm not being disrespectful in saying that, and I also wonder how many of those tons Ramps would swap for the chance at another test cap?

By saying the milestone may not mean as much, what I mean is, if you're someone like Ponting who's been on the road year in and year out for about a dozen years or more, are you likely to go and play county cricket post-tests for long enough to get to what's still a pretty significant mark?

It's not really on the Aussie radar is it? Aussies don't play enough FC cricket to get anywhere near 100 100's and Test players usually retire fairly quickly after playing Tests and if they play on, it's usually in Australia. Guys like Langer who've played on in England after retiring from Tests are rare.

 

[honestbharani]

Hb, you really think 52 matches is not enough for some one who averages a miserable 27.33 when playing as a pure batsman.

There isn't a single batsman in the entire history of the game who has played so much for so little by way of payback.

His poverty of runs will always keep him in the 'limelight'. I cant imagine another player reaching such depths after so much faith has been bestowed on them.

I dont know why, but I always thought he had it in him to make the cut as a test batsman, definitely slightly better than some of the other guys tried out by England. And I am talking about the Ramps of the recent years.. the last 3-4 when he seems to have found another gear in the domestic level. I thought he should have been tried out for a bit as part of the horses for courses policy. The man I think he is most similar to in terms of how his career went is Neil McKenzie and look how well McKenzie is doing in his second coming..........

 

[tooextracool]

Tbf to Neil Mckenzie his problems were mostly technical whilst Ramps problems were entirely temperamental. Despite Rich's rather positive outlook on Ramps performance in 97/98 and in 2000/01, the fact is that he was still underperforming in terms of his actual ability at the test match level, and he never managed to truly mirror the level of play that he was so notorious for at the domestic level. Hick, in contrast, did, as most who watched him play from 93-96 know that he was more often than Atherton, the most prized wicket going around.

Back to Mckenzie however, was was atrocious against spin, but even then he had a fairly decent record against sides around the world that didnt have a heavy spin-based artillery and he genuinely performed to the best of his abilities on occasions. He was probably unfortunate to have been dropped when he was and given that his replacement was Van Jaarsveld, I guess it was perfectly understandable.